Red Neon
by PrsctrTails
Summary: TVD/GG crossover. Total AU Think of this as a legal soap opera. Major themes for this story being murder, Dair and Damon, Nate and Jyler. Rated M for content and maybe language
1. Chapter 1

In all universal honesty, it didn't look like much of anything. It was sort of a pulsing pile. The colors were an odd mixture of free-floating chaos upon the pavement.

The scene of the mess would have qualified as surreal on its own face, but the crowd of sickly pale and sickly silent onlookers standing just far enough away from the body added to the scene. It wasn't like any of them had ever seen a human being fly out a window, only to impact the pavement and become something other than a human being.

Somehow, one of the morbidly curious onlookers had been in possesion of the presence of mind to call the police. Normally, a dead body in New York City did not warrant any real form of express attention from the NYPD. But, if said body had come flying out of a window of one of the more famous hotels in the city, well, that warranted attention. The first police cruiser pulled up. One of the cops quickly lost his dinner. Human mashed potatoes wasn't often seen.

"What happened?" One of the officers asked of the crowd. The crowd nonsensically pointed out that what was formerly a body had come flying out a window somewhere high up from the Empire Hotel. The two officers nodded and made for the floor with the broken window. Neither said anything as the elevator took them skywards. Sure, they had each seen dead bodies, but this kind of stretched the pale. This was one of those things that would make every news channel in the city that never slept.

Barging into the room, both officers were instantly bothered by how quiet it was. The only reason noise to speak of was what was filtering in through the window. Guns drawn, both moved carefully through the expansive and somewhat garrish hotel suite that was illuminated only by moonlight.

"In here!" One of the cops yelled.

In the room was a figure, face down on the floor, was flannel shirt wearing figure. His messy hair going in all directions. The cops rolled him over to see his blackeye, split open chin and damaged nose. Dan was out like a light, his eyes completely glazed over.

Dan woke up in the hospital, his whole head in pain. His vision was blurred. He knew where he was based on the sounds and the stinging smell of Clorox. There were only so many places that smelled like this. Well, actually, there was another smell. It was cologne, a scent that Dan knew to be expensive and rare. So much so it only belonged to one person he knew.

"Nate?" Dan groggily said.

"Dan!" Nate said, pulled from his slight nap. He was relieved, and not just because he hated hospitals. "You're in the hospital."

"I could tell," Dan said, still too sore to move. "Why?"

"I'll have to explain that later," Nate said as he rose and looked out the door of the private room. "I'll be right back." He said as he threw on his suit jacket and made for the hallway. He shifted his face from relief to serious. Largely because one of the few people he genuinely disliked was down approaching. "What do you want?" He demanded, sounding every bit like a Vanderbilt.

"We heard he was awake. So he's going to be placed under arrest." Was the answer Nate got.

"Dammit, Bonnie. He just woke up," Nate fired back. He really did hate Assistant District Attorney Bonnie Bennett. She was just so...hateable. "Let me see the warrant." He demanded. Bonnie handed it over with a smirk. Nate scanned it. "Murder One?" He said, incredulous.

"We're taking him into custody," She said, smirking. Nate, however, wasn't smirking.

"You know damn well you could get away with this if I wasn't here." Nate asserted.

"And why's that?" Bonnie asked.

"Because you're not fit to carry my briefcase, Bennett," Nate growled. "I'm a better lawyer, and a better media-wizard than you. If you get one step closer to his room, I will have your bitchy face plastered all over every newspaper in this city." He said, eyes burning. It was actually quite intimidating. Bonnie was regarded as one of the more feared prosecutors in New York City, but even she knew better than to try and fight Nate Archibald in the press. That, and he was a damn good lawyer. "After the hospital discharges him, we will surrender voluntarily. No perp walk either, or I let it slip that your boss has a thing for Drag Queens."

Bonnie's eye twitched. She had expected resistance, but _wow._ This was a little terrifying. "Fine." She said in a huff and left. Nate let out a sigh, a little proud of himself. He quickly went back to Dan's room.

"What was that about?" Dan asked. "You were using your grown-up voice."

Nate smiled weakly as he closed the door. "Dan, uh, ...Chuck is dead."

Dan merely blinked. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't at all sad. He remained silent waiting for Nate to resume speaking.

"He went out the window of the Empire," Nate said, taking a seat next to Dan. "...And they think you pushed him out."

"What?" Dan yelled, loud enough to hurt his own head. "They think I killed Chuck Bass?"

"You were in the room. There were signs of struggle. And, well... the whole city knows you two have bad blood." Nate sheepishly sighed.

"So, they think I threw him out of a window?" Dan repeated.

"Listen, odds are their whole case is bullshit. Don't worry. I'll have this whole thing taken care of," Nate reassured. "After you get out of the hospital, we'll meet with the police and the prosecutors, and I'll fix this whole thing. Okay?"

"Yeah," Dan nodded, oddly enough entirely calmed by his best friend. "Where's Blair?"

"We don't know," Nate said. "She's way out of pocket." Dan nodded.

"This will make your family proud," Dan laughed weakly. "You stepping down from Madison Avenue to represent the lowly writer."

"Stop with that crap," Nate laughed. "You have six best sellers. One about me." He joked. Out of boredom some months earlier, Dan had penned a mindless story about a rich, well groomed and entirely too kind-hearted corporate lawyer who took on a charity defense case. It was stupid and mundane and cliche and it was massive hit. Though, it had been annoying in and of the fact it had dredged up the always fun Dan Humphrey/Nate Archibald gay rumors. Rumors that hadn't been true since Nate's first year of law school. Though, neither spent too much energy denying the rumors. "Go back to sleep, Dan. I'll go by that really smelly bakery you like." Nate teased. Laughter wasn't a bad thing at the moment, odds are they'd need it later.


	2. Chapter 2

Nate, no matter how serious, enjoyed irony. The Judge presiding over the arriagnment of the case that involved someone dying from flight from window just had to have the last name of Fell. Nate couldn't stop smirking.

"Mr. Humphrey, you are charged with one count of murder in the first degree. How do you plead?" Judge Fell asked.

Dan rose from his seat at the defense table, the reporters, photographers and cameramen in the Courtroom gallery followed on pins and needles. "Not guilty." He said against the thunder of camera shutters and scribbling pens.

"How does the prosecution feel about bail?" Judge Fell asked, turning his attention to Assistant District Attorney Bennett.

"We want the defendant remanded and held without bail." She answered. Nate was on his feet in a flash.

"Your Honor, my client has ties to two different communites and has a spotless, literally spotless record. The man he's alleged to have killed had a longer criminal record than my client." Nate said, earning laughter from the gallery.

"He's also a best selling author. He has deep pockets and frequently travels abroad. Remand is the best option." Bonnie answered, glowering at Nate. This, however, played smashingly perfectly into Nate's hands. He, rather dramatically, removed a book from his briefcase and held it up for the cameras.

"Judge, my client has in fact written six best selling novels," Nate began, flipping the book over. "There's also a very large picture of him on the back of each. Where could he hide when most of the English speaking world knows the face of Daniel Humphrey?"

This earned roaring laughter from most of the Courtroom. Nate smirked wide. "As Your Honor can see, even if my client was a flight risk, where could he possibly fly to?" Nate said, voice just the right tone of serious argument and sarcasm. From his seat at the defense table, Dan reminded himself to write another book about Nate.

"Your Honor!" Bonnie said, annoyed. "Mr. Archibald is turning this into a circus. The Defendant is accused of throwing a man out of a window."

"Accused," Nate repeated. "Innocent until proven guilty. That even applies to writers, I'd hope."

"Not so much for Oscar Wilde." Judge Fell sighed before turning his attention to Dan. "Mr. Humphrey, I have some questions for you. Would you mind humoring me?"

"No, not at all." Dan answered.

"Do you have any book tours or family members other than in the State of New York?"

"No and no, Your Honor." Dan nodded.

"Okay, then. Bail is set a $350,000. Cash." Judge Fell ruled, banging his gavel. "And the defendant will surrender his passport."

No sooner then had the ruling come down, then Dan had his checkbook out and was busy making out a check. Nate was moderately impressed. He also spotted a chance to humanize Dan in comparison to the always-angry prosecutor. Nate dropped into the chair next to Dan and slung an arm around his shoulder. Both could see the cameras and reporters immediately shoot their attention to the pair.

"How'd I do?" Nate asked in a whisper.

"Great," Dan grinned. "Did you learn all that lawyer brilliance at Stanford?"

"There and that play we did back in high school," Nate smiled. "This'll look great in the papers. You'll seem sympathetic and relieved."

"And you'll look caring and concerned in your $5,000 suit," Dan laughed. "Am I right?"

"Very good," Nate winked. "Get that check to the clerk's office and you'll be out of here in ten minutes. I'll go deal with the press." He said, flashing that million-watt Archibald/Vanderbilt smile as he rose and made for the elaborate Courtroom entranceway. As soon as he exited, the crush of press that had been around Bonnie was soon around him. Nate merely smiled, taking all of it in and loving every minute of it. Questions were hollered out a fevered pace.

"What is your defense strategy?" Was the loudest of the inquiries.

"We contend this was a suicide. That's usually the answer when someone goes out a window," Nate quipped. "And if you want a funny story about crime, go read one of my client's books. Or, go back and talk to the prosecution. I hear she's great at making things up."

Nate's was, in legal parlance, a Cowboy. His sharp legal mind was kept off-kilter by his desire to always do things slightly dangerously. Often times, this made him a tabloid star. He knew he could win with the press any day. He just worried more about the actual in Court aspects. He finally pushed his way over to Bonnie, his face a bragging smile. "Murder One and you couldn't even get remand. Chalk that up as another win in my column. Of course, all the wins have been in my column..."

"Shut up," Bonnie growled. "Judge Fell is an idiot."

"Uh-huh," Nate rolled his eyes. "Remember, you may be good. But I am magic." He said, spinning on his heels and making for the elevator. He was amused to see the two rookie Assistant District Attorney's who had been seated at the proseution table. "You two should quit and work for me. I'll triple your salaries."

"We like criminals behind bars." One of them said.

"You haven't been in the game that long. Get back to me after five years." Nate said, laughing a little. "And tell your witch of a boss that I won't be taking a plea." He said.

"So, what is your salary for this case?" One of the two ADA's asked.

"I didn't know we were that friendly." Nate laughed.

"Tyler Lockwood. And that's Jeremy Gilbert." Tyler said as they both extended their hands. Nate shook them both. He admired politeness.

"My fee for this case?" Nate asked aloud. "I believe it's nothing."

Jeremy and Tyler stared blankly. "Murder One in and on a celebrity case?" Jeremy asked. "And you're taking the case for free?"

"Dan's my friend," Nate shrugged. "And he's innocent."

"Innocent?" Jeremy and Tyler repeated in unison. Nate laughed a little and looked back and forth between the two, amused.

"Yeah, guys," Nate said as the elevator arrived at the first floor lobby. "I get it, you two are still proud of your University of Virginia and Yale law degrees, but this isn't law school. It's real out here." Nate said, exiting the elevator with a ghost of a smirk. Jeremy and Tyler followed after as they made their way back to their offices.

"Am I the only one impressed he knew both of our law schools?" Jeremy asked.

"You don't get it, Jer," Tyler laughed. "In this part of the City, that guy is Royalty."

"And he drives Bonnie crazy." Jeremy laughs.

"She's 0-6 against him. All pretty big cases," Tyler explained. "But the big reason is a lot juicier."

"Gossip, Tyler?" Jeremy balked. "Really?"

"Okay, so Bonnie and Nate Archibald were both in law school together at Stanford. He was about 20th or so in their class. Now that's damn good, but Bonnie was first literally."

"What happened?" Jeremy asked?

"None of the big name law firms would hire her."

"...Was it a race thing?"

"No, no," Tyler laughed. "Archibald is right. She's a bitch. That's why no one hired her besides the Manhattan District Attorney. Nate got a job at Covington & Burling. She still hates him."

"Damn," Jeremy muttered. "So, how good is he?"

"Maybe the best." Tyler answered.


	3. Chapter 3

Nate rubbed at his eyes, ducking into the nearest deli. He ordered something in almost a mutter before taking a seat. Sure, he was probably due back at his office and his desk, for he was going to have to pull every trick in the book for this case.

He rubbed his forehead again, trying to jumpstart his brain. He had learned a lot from Stanford Law School, but trying to manage a media circus wasn't one of them. Sure, he was good at it, but it took from him a lot of energy. He had once confessed to Dan over a bottle of Tequila and a few not-so-chaste kisses that he had stress ulcers and the occasional migraine. Dan had advised Nate to shift to Corporate or Entertainment Law. Nate said he was a junkie for high profile criminal cases.

"Weren't you just on TV?" A voice asked him. He looked up immediately, trying to turn on that Archibald charm as quickly as possible. Before him was a very attractice young woman. If Nate had to guess, she was no older than 24, and she looked very familiar, but he couldn't place from where.

"Yes, I was," Nate answered. "You don't strike me as a Court watcher."

"In my spare time. I'm a journalism student at NYU." The girl answered.

"And you're all thrilled that one of NYU's best known graduates is on trial for murder, right?" Nate asked, smirking slightly.

"Sort of," She answered. "So, is he as innocent as your press conferences let on?" She asked as Nate had begun going through his phone.

"Yep," Nate answered, still oddly charming despite being distracted. "Take a seat." He offered.

"Really?" She asked.

"Really," Nate answered. "I'm Nate Archibald. And you're Elena Gilbert."

Nate really was magic. This was proven as he slid his phone over, the screen displaying her _New York Star_ biography page. Elena almost laughed.

"You're good," She complimented. Nate cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah. My family owned that newspaper. I still have friends there." He pointed out. "So, you've got me pinned down, ask away. My defense strategy, gory crime scene details, go ahead."

"Are you and Dan Humphrey still dating?" Elena asked, barely able to control her grin. Nate burst out laughing.

"This is the case of the year, and all you care about is _that_?" He asked, very amused. It was now Elena's turn to fiddle through her phone and show a picture. Said picture was of Dan and Nate locked at the waist and lips on the dance floor of some club.

"That could have been from any time." Nate said as his food was delivered to him. Elena immediately grabbed a few fries.

"It was five weeks ago. Club90," She answered. "Off the record, is this beyond Attorney-Client?"

Nate rolled his eyes. "I hate to break it to you, but if you leak that pic, neither Dan or I will deny it happened."

"I thought he was in love with Blair Waldorf?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, well. She was engaged to Chuck. I'm single. And yes, Dan is in love with Blair, but everyone in New York City already knows that. You won't move many papers running with that."

"What will move papers?" Elena asked casually.

"An anonymous lawyer telling you that Chuck Bass had been spotted buying a large amount of cocaine a few weeks before he jumped out the window." Nate said, looking over the brim of his Dr. Pepper with a waggle of eyebrows.

"Is this confirmable?" She asked. "I could lose my job if you're trying to scam me."

"The dealer he buys from was busted shortly after the buy," Nate said, his smile boyish. "Ask your brother for the file. Or his little friend."

"I will," Elena nodded.

"See? You have me, Jeremy and his friend Tyler. That's three sources. All you need to run a story. And who knows, maybe there's a picture in the file?"

"Hopefully," Elena said, giving Nate a once-over glance.

"Relax. I'd be disbarred for leaking a false story," Nate said with a shrug. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Why not?" Elena laughed. Even Nate thought it was a very cute laugh.

"How much do you make a year? It can't be much."

Elena tried not to blush. "Last year? Countring my bonus, about $65,500."

"I'll triple your salary if you quit and come work for the defense team. I need a good researcher." Nate said, eyes smiling but face serious.

"Seriously? You'd pay me $200,000?" She asked.

"$70,000 upfront," Nate bragged, enjoying her shocked facial expression. "I'm a Vanderbilt. Don't look so surprised."

"And story rights?" Elena broached. "Magazine articles, a book?"

"Done," Nate nodded. "As long as it looks good for the defense."

"Is this because you're impressed with my talents or because my brother is on the prosecution team?"

"Yes." Nate answered simply. Elena always had liked honesty in lawyers.

"All right, you've got me," She winked. "I want to start my first piece now. An in-depth bio of you." Elena said, pulling out a pen and small pad. And a tape recorder just in case.

Nate smirked, winking slightly. "Nathaniel Fitzwilliam Archibald. I'm 32. Bachelors Degree from Columbia, law degree from Stanford. I was, uh, what's it called," Nate laughed, searching for the term."Magna Cum Laude." That made Elena almost doubletake. Sure, Nate didn't seem stupid, but, Honors from a law school like Stanford? Impressive.

"So, you've been a lawyer for what, seven years?" Elena asked.

"Six and a half," He replied. "92% win rate."

"I thought defense attorneys didn't keep track of things like that?"

"That's just what the bad lawyers say," Nate said, leaning forward with a smirk. "What else? Do you need my jean size? 32. 33 if I eat too much. I like Rolexes, Ranger Rovers and red wine." Nate listed off, casually laughing.

"What prompts an Heir presumptive to the Vanderbilt fortune to take up criminal defense, especially after you landed a job at Covington & Burling."

"Because defending people beats doing the adult version of busy work for giant multinational companies," Nate answered. "I'm a Courtroom junkie."

"I could tell by how you beat up on Bonnie at the hearing this morning." Elena smirked.

"She's a great bully, but a terrible lawyer." Nate said simply.

"Is that on the record?" Elena asked, eyebrow arching.

"Yep," Nate answered with a slight shrug. "What's she going to do, yell at me?"

"Tell me about Dan," Elena came up with next, blushing just slightly.

"On the record? Best friend. Off the record? Best friend, sometimes boyfriend and occasional love of my life. You know, the usual." The always modest defense attorney replied. "I've been his attorney since the day I passed the Bar exam here in New York. Before this, the biggest case I handled to him was a drunk and disorderly."

"So, I'm guessing you don't think he did it?"

"You mean threw Chuck out of a window? No, I don't think Dan did it," Nate said, rubbing his chin.

"Then what do you think happened? Your client and occasional love of your life was found in the room of dead man. And beaten up at that." Elena answered.

"Dan showed up to confront Chuck about something. Knowing Chuck, he was probably drunk or strung out. God only knows what happened." Nate sighed.

"Do you think you can win a case with no story?"

"I think so," Nate nodded. "I have a great imagination for things like this."

"If you have a great imagination, why am I here and $70,000 richer?" Elena asked, almost chuckling.

"Because," Nate said simply, swallowing a healthy bite of his sandwich. "You're going to find Blair Waldorf."

"Me? Find Blair Waldorf?" She repeated. Nate nodded.

"Yes," He confirmed. "I have the ugly suspicion that she knows something about this."

"Something?"

"Yeah. She was engaged to Chuck, but she knew Dan was in love with her. And, honestly, I think she has feelings for Dan." Nate explained, already looking slightly confused.

"Is this good or bad for your, our, case?"

"It all depends," Nate said, dabbing at his mouth with a napkin as he stood up. "Come on, I'll take you to my office and let you loose at the files."

"File searching?" Elena mockingly gasped. "I went to NYU. Like your love-buddy Dan. Show me _some_ respect."

Nate laughed as he jokingly looped an arm around her shoulder. "And I went to Columbia and Stanford. Even Dan knows that allows me to call the shots."


	4. Chapter 4

"So, I'm not in the same loop as you all," Elena said as Nate navigated his Range Rover through Manhattan traffic. "Explain this whole Dan Humphrey-Chuck Bass dynamic."

"We could fly from here to Tokyo and that wouldn't be long enough to explain," Nate sighed. The traffic suddenly stopped completely. A water main was gushing water in a dramatic and copious fashion. Nate rolled his eyes. "This will take a while," He grumbled. "So, what do you think you need to know?"

"The Humphrey-Bass dynamic." Elena repeated.

"Chuck hated Dan. When he was living, Dan hated Chuck even more. It was ugly," Nate said.

"The question is why," Elena said, voice sounding almost professional. Nate was impressed at her phrasing.

"Ah, I love you NYU kids," Nate shrugged. "Opposite background, opposite personalities, opposite values. It just seemed they were two different molds."

"And you in the middle?" Elena asked.

"Yeah," Nate nodded. "I met Chuck, God, as long ago as I can remember. He seemed normal. As normal as any of us on the Upper East Side could be. I was too dense to figure it out, but I guess he was already showing signs of being..." Nate struggled to find the term.

"Mean?" Elena volunteered.

"That's too easy," Nate smiled.

"Manipulative?"

"...Bingo," Nate responded, impressed. "We were all kids. We didn't know what was what. I suppose we thought once high school rolled along, he'd grow up."

"But I'm guessing it got worse?" Elena theorized with a half-hidden smirk.

"A lot. All I cared about in high school was getting laid and getting into a decent college," Nate shrugged, loosening his tie and unbuttoning his collar. He found himself smirking as he managed to remove his suit jacket. Even through the fabric of his dress shirt, Elena could visually trace Nate's muscles. She could have sworn he was flexing. "As I was saying, we all sort of grew up as high school went on. Chuck had some moments, but never anything real."

"What about college?"

"Chuck decided he didn't need it," Nate answered. "It cramped with his lifestyle. I guess he liked whatever it was he had going."

"No offense, Mr. Archibald, but-"

"Nate. Call me Nate."

"No offense, _Nate_," Elena said, "But why do I get the feeling you were always around his so-called lifestyle?"

"I was," Nate muttered. "Like I said, Elena. I was a kid. I didn't know that what I was a part of was so...disturbing."

"What made you notice it?" Elena inquired.

"Dan." Nate said simply.

"And we're back into boyfriend territory, I take it." Elena almost laughed.

"Well, Dan and I started hanging out in high school. And his life was just so different. Chuck was girls, booze and drugs to the extreme. Dan was Met's games, vampire movies, teaching me how to write a proper term paper. He was normalcy." Nate laughed into a pleasant sigh. Elena, normally snarky, was a little bit touched by how much Nate clearly cared for a man who was supposed to be his client. It was puppy love on steroids.

"And then?" She asked.

"Then came college. Dan at NYU, me at Columbia. And Chuck having his scary little orgies," Nate said, rubbing his eyes. "Once we all landed on a college campus, things mellowed out. I found myself drifting away from all the stuff I did in high school. I found better stuff."

"I'm guessing Chuck didn't like that?"

"Hardly," Nate groused. "I guess Chuck thought I was some peice of real estate he owned."

"Okay, there's that for background. How did Dan enter Chuck Bass's shitlist?" Elena inquired, more curious than she wanted to admit.

"Because Dan just didn't care," Nate said, a little proud. "He was from Brooklyn. An all A student. Smart, brave, stupidly stubborn. The one person Chuck Bass couldn't buy off or scare away. And Dan only got tougher as he got older."

"So it was a lame version of _West Side Story_?" Elena laughed, unable to help herself. She knew it was very serious, but it was contrived enough to make her laugh.

"Just about," Nate shrugged.

"So, who won?" Elena asked.

"Depends on who you ask," Nate shrugged. "The book Dan wrote, _Inside_, showed a lot of people all the ugly that lives in the Upper East Side. It put some dirty of their pristine smiles."

"But?"

"It didn't leave Dan with a lot of friends. Or protection. All of a sudden, he was out of the social group he had worked so hard to get in," Nate said, looking out his window. "It was scorched Earth. No one won."

"You stuck around." Elena casually pointed out.

"Well, _duh_," Nate laughed. "A book wasn't going to make me stop being his friend. It was a book."

"Is that the only reason?" Elena slyly forwarded.

"Clever girl," Nate chuckled. "We'd had some, uh, sleepovers. Neither of us wanted to stop having them."

"Uh-huh," Elena laughed with a roll of her eyes, she looked down at her ink-filled notepad. "How does this sound? Stanford trained legal ace Nate Archibald has taken, for free, the case of one Daniel Humphrey, the man charged with sending Chuck Bass on a oneway roller coaster ride. Out of his own hotel, no less."

Nate, smile in place, glared at her. "You're _terrible_." He laughed.

"What part of it isn't true?" She asked with a wink.

"That's not the point," Nate laughed. "And leave out the boyfriend thing for now."

"But that's my hook!" Elena blurted out with laughter.

The traffic finally cleared up and they were able to move forward. Their small talk continued until they arrived. Elena, who normally worked out of a nice but rustic building, was in awe of towering glass and steel skyscraper. For a split second, she wondered if Nate owned the whole building. She followed him inside and marveled and the pointlessly ornate lobby. The marble fountain with crystal blue water just smelled of Vanderbilt. Almost feeling lost, she was glad the always playful Nate was guiding through the swarms of well-dressed professionals.

She almost tripped into the elevator, the heel of her boots getting caught slightly. Nate casually caught her with one arm. "How'd you do that?" She asked.

Nate just smiled. "I dated Serena van der Woodsen. It comes with the territory."

"You'll have to tell me about that some other time," Elena smirked. She was slightly shocked by how many buttons there were on the elevator. "75 floors?" She said outloud.

"75th is a restaurant, 74th is an observation deck, and the 73rd is-"

"Your office?" Elena asked, grinning.

"Now you're catching on," Nate said as he pressed the button marked 73. The elevator moved quicker than expected.

"How do you stay so tan?" Elena asked, curious for several reasons.

"Tanning bed at home," Nate answered with a shrug, like everyone had one. The elevator chimed as it arrived at the second to top floor. Nate guided her to his office, letting his smirk do the bragging. The window views were breathtaking scenes of the Manhattan skyline. "You should see it at night," Nate said, taking a seat behind his desk, degress framed on the wall to his left. Along with various pictures.

"Is that you and Bonnie?" Elena asked.

Nate fake a shudder. "Yeah, we went to law school together. It was horrible."

"Uh-huh," She nodded, taking a seat. "So, what's the job, boss?"

Nate rolled his eyes. "Like I said, you need to find Blair Waldorf."

"So...why?" Elena inquired.

"Outside of Chuck and Dan, with Chuck being...dead, I have the ugly suspicion that Blair might know something." Nate sighed.

"Can't you just subpoena her to make her show up?"

"She'll hide," Nate nodded. "She's _very_ good at that. Trust me."

"So, I'm supposed to find her? Blair Waldorf?"

"Yep," Nate grinned. "Why do you think I hired you? I remember how you tracked down Caroline Forbes, that supermodel."

"Thanks," Elena shrugged. "So, when do I get to meet Dan?"

"He's in hiding. And I don't blame him." Nate answered. "There's no doubt Blair is somewhere in the city. So...have fun." He encouraged cheerfully.

Elena rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Don't you Vanderbilt's have a fleet of private investigators to handle these things for you?"

"That's too obvious. So, I have you, Ms. Gilbert." Nate smirked.


End file.
